FleXX: A Study of Flexibility in Outpatient Settings
We are currently expanding this study to address flexibility needs in response to a contagion. To learn more, head to our FleXX (Contagion Special Edition) page.
RESEARCH TEAM
Upali Nanda, Melissa Hoelting, Jonathan Essary, Whitney Fuessel, Giyoung Park, Zach Overschmidt, Michelle Ossmann (Steelcase Health), Seth Starner (Steelcase Health)
Funds
Steelcase Health and HKS Inc.
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WHAT Is THE AIM
To develop a framework to address flexibility in outpatient clinic settings to create change-ready facilities.
Objectives
1. To understand the various definitions of flexibility and nuances of commonly used terminology.
2. To understand the need for, challenges of, and expectations around flexibility in outpatient settings from three key stakeholder groups: healthcare administrators, nurse managers and facility managers.
3. To synthesize current frameworks of flexibility [from within and outside the health sector] into a simpler practice-focused framework for outpatient clinics.
4. To validate this framework based on insights from key stakeholders.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
The future of healthcare, specifically ambulatory care facilities, has been widely discussed in the industry. Clinics today require the ability to be change-ready to keep up with clinical demands and a changing marketplace. In 2015, CADRE and JE Dunn studied drivers, trends and patient/physician perceptions around what we called “Clinic 20XX – Designing for an “Ever-changing Present” rather than a “faceless future.” From the study, connectivity, flexibility, and sense of place became the core tenets of designing for change.
Flexibility is a severely over-used word, with wide and varied definitions, often used inter-changeably with other terms such as adaptability and agility. These ambiguous definitions can affect stakeholders’ decision making, with blanket requests for ‘flexibility’. However, some levels of flexibility require strategic investment and planning, a clear ROI, and operational considerations. There is a need for an actionable framework for flexibility that can be used to inform design and structure decision making, not only for health care but all design.
WHAT DID WE DO | HOW DID WE DO IT
The research team conducted an extensive literature scan to establish a framework for flexibility and to identify key exemplars for the various attributes. A nationwide survey was deployed, with 143 respondents, to gain further insight into outpatient flexibility, assess needs and appetite for flexibility, identify common pitfalls, and most importantly, validate the proposed FleXX framework. This survey was administered to CADRE, Steelcase and HKS contacts in decision-making roles for health care organizations and health care administrators, facilities managers, and nurse managers through a third-party survey provider.
WHAT DID WE FIND
Our findings can be summarized as follows:
1. Buildings must be “flexible” in order “to” adapt. Flexibility is the affordance of the built environment that allows organizations to adapt in response to unpredictable, external drivers.
2. Versatility, modifiability, convertibility and scalability are the core attributes of flexibility. They consider user/owner perspective, affected built elements, level of ease, duration of time to change, and when/how much investment should take place.
3. Versatility and modifiability were rated the most important attributes of flexibility. They can be baked into a design solution and should not come at a premium cost.
4. Flexibility should only have a premium cost for long-term scalability – up to 20%. Stakeholders want to invest in scalable spaces.
5. The top three considerations for flexibility were amount of space, variations in sensory environment (and control over them), and ability to use the same space for different purposes/choices.
6. Flexible “stuff” (e.g. Furniture, fixtures and equipment) should be considered independently, and during space planning, as they may change a different rate than space.
7. Experience with modularity anchors on furniture – modular workstations and cabinet solutions were found more often in facilities than demountable walls, prefab exterior panels, or prefab rooms. Spaces are more likely to be modified or converted into a different function than any other spatial change.
8. Demountable walls require a systems thinking approach. Often, they are too difficult to change if they are separate from infrastructure affordances such as MEP and lighting.
9. It is not clear yet to stakeholders how FleXX ROI can be measured and over what time, even though 1-5 years seems to be a comfort zone.
10. Flexibility is not just spatially defined – it includes time, roles and resources. Adaptable organizations use building flexibility as a tool to accomplish organizational flexibility.
WHAT IS NEXT
The next step for this study is to try and test the FleXX framework on real projects, and study how flexibility can be planned and designed as well as strategically mobilized in order to provide meaningful impact and a sustainable ROI. Additionally, a deeper dive can be taken to analyze the FleXX potential facilities designed for, versus what they used, to further our understanding around successful design strategies.
Image Courtesy of CADRE